Since you already returned an ALiMac because of the glossy screen; your choices are limited. Mac Pro and choose your screen of choice... or a Mac mini and you can still choose your screen. It's not like the plastic iMac is a quantum leap in the background and it may be better then a new Mac mini.

I don't think I helped you any but there you go... good luck...

PS I love my ALiMac to bits and never notice the glossy screen; but I made that active decision to not be bothered by the reflection; I really never notice it until I go looking for it.

- Cheaper: Mine was more expensive than the base Alu 20", but I didn't want a 20" screen (especially after hearing that they are terribly in quality). The price I paid for the white 24" was a good deal cheaper than the entry 24" alu

- Matte screen: I prefer it

- Lots of 'issues' reported with the Alu's: They seemed to have died down a bit recently, though I haven't been really following. I just didn't want to worry about potential freezing/gradient/condensation problems.

I'm in the same boat as the OP. I want a new mac for illustration work and some photo stuff. I'm waiting for the new mac pros but to be honest they are probably too much for my needs. I tried and disliked the glossy screen imac. I see Apple UK has a refurbished old 24" imac for £945 which seems quite good. or I could go for a new mini and 23" cinema display. How does the speed of the new mini compare to the old imac? Also would the ACD be better than the lcd of the 2.16 imac?

I have a 2.16GHz white iMac and have had no problems. I haven't tried an Aluminum iMac so I can't really compare them speedwise, but the white one should be more than enough to support your needs with running CS3.

I have a 2.16GHz white iMac and have had no problems. I haven't tried an Aluminum iMac so I can't really compare them speedwise, but the white one should be more than enough to support your needs with running CS3.

and you can upgrade to leopard for $10 from apple (my upgrade turned around in 3 days including shipping!).

i only wanted to spend $2k total, and did that easily, while still buying the new apple keyboard, 500gb external drive, 4gb thumbdrive, airport extreme base station, a 2gb memory upgrade, microsoft office, etc.

I hate glossy screens, and I already returned a 20' inches Aluminum with other display problems because of that...but also that unity was running hot.

Click to expand...

Get the old one for the matte screen, but I don't understand why you returned the aluminium because it was getting hot. It's designed to be hot - it means the insides aren't frying because the heat is being dissipated.

See that's the beauty of life. Even a great intellect such as yourself can always learn something new.

In the Apple world "glass" was invented 19 months ago when glossy displays first appeared on the Macbook and Macbook Pro. 15 months later it was on the aluminum iMacs and the Apple Cinema Display line is now long overdue for a refresh. In fact, the 30" ACD hasn't seen a change in 21 months now.

You asked why all the ACD's were matte and I suggested they might not be for long, at least not all of them. Give it time.

In your position I would get a white iMac. Since you've tried, and disliked, the glossy screen, the aluminum iMacs are out. And the performance differential is fairly minor--you can look at Macworld's benchmarks for an idea.

I'm with you on the glossy screens--I can't stand them, though I know that is a personal opinion. And you can get a refurb white iMac from Apple now for $1099 for a 20" and $1399 for a 24". So go for one of them!

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